May 15, 2016

The World's 20 Most Impressive Ancient Builds

Suspension bridges and skyscrapers
are marvels of modern engineering, but some of the world's most
impressive constructions are thousands of years behind us. The Roman
Colosseum is one such wonder, marking a crucial transition point between
two vastly different ages of construction.

For our list of the 20
Most Impressive Ancient Builds (at least ones that are still partially
around) we'll use the Romans' iconic stadium as our starting point and
dip further back in time to explore the depth and breadth of building
before the common era.

The Great Wall of China

Northern China, 210 B.C.Nobody
wants barbarians from the north entering their land. That's why Chinese
Emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned the start of what is now the Great
Wall of China in the third century B.C. Made up of sections of walls
that cover nearly 4,000 miles—not including another roughly 1,500 miles
of natural barriers—the east-west wall uses stone, brick, wood, and
earth to create a physical and psychological barrier. Much of the
original wall didn't stand the test of time, but the Ming dynasty in the
1300s started a building push that made the Great Wall the wonder it is
today.

Temple of Hera

Italy, 550 B.C.Originally
surrounded by 40 stone columns (originally wood) the Doric style
exterior of the low-slung Temple of Hera was built on the south slopes
of Kronos hill, complete with three distinct interior chambers. Interior
walls broke up worship areas for different Greek gods, rooms which
later became a home for some of Rome's ancient relics. The temple has a
limestone base which runs east to west, longer than it is wide. Mud
bricks, meanwhile, form the upper portion with wood and terracotta
adorning the temple's interior. Unfortunately most of it was destroyed
during an earthquake in the 4th century AD.

The Parthenon On The Acropolis

Athens, 432 B.C.The
first buildings constructed on the the rocky outcrop of the Acropolis
of Athens were destroyed by Persians around 480 B.C., but that didn't
stop a second 15-year effort from finishing a complete reconstruction
that wrapped up around 432 B.C. The highlight of the Acropolis was the
Parthenon and its gold and ivory statue of Athena, but there was plenty
of other stuff to see, including the limestone foundation and columns
made from Pentelic marble, an early use of the material.

Gobekli Tepe

Turkey, 9000 B.C.Considered
to be the world's first temple, the Gobekli Tepe contains at least 20
circular installations that contain several pillars surrounded by walls,
some 200 pillars throughout the whole temple. The site is also home to
rock statues with carvings of animals—foxes, snakes, wild boars, cranes
and wild ducks—that could date back as far as 10,000 BC. Perhaps most
interestingly, some of the construction features pillars that are
T-shaped and weigh over 60 tons, leaving experts unsure of how such
primitive humans accomplished such a difficult and complex task.

Tumulus of Bugon

France, 4700 B.C.On
a limestone plateau near the river Bougon is a stepped mound with a
rectangular chamber, the Tumulus of Bougon. Inside the ancient mound is a
series of passages and chamber walls formed by human-shaped orthostats,
or out more simply "upright stones." A 90-ton capstone covers the main
chamber, with the monolithic pillars dividing the room up into smaller
subsections. When discovered, the location was filled with several
vertical layers of skeletons and lots of pottery, which helped
archaeologists identify the timeline of construction and discover just
how early and impressive this structure is.

StonehengeEngland, 3000 B.C.

The
widely famous Stonehenge is built from a mix of large sarsen stones—a
type of sandstone found naturally in the south of England—and smaller
bluestones. The largest sarsen stone, believed to be from Marlborough
Downs about 20 miles from the site, weighs about 30 tons. The
Wales-derived blue stones weigh between two and five tons each and were
likely carried over 150 miles to reach their final resting place at the
Stonehenge site.

Carnac Stones

France, 3300 B.C.The
year 3300 B.C. sound a little too recent for the world's largest
collection of standing stones? It's a relatively conservative guess.
Some believe some of the stones that form the array known as the Carnac
Stones in the Brittany region of France date all the way back to 4500
B.C. Many have guessed at the possible purpose of the megalithic site
which may have been used to track to movement of the sun or the stars.
We may never really know, but the sheer intensity of so hundreds and
hundreds of carved stones placed in such a regimented order is
compelling food for speculation.

Knap of Howar

Scotland, 3700 B.C.It
may seem like just a stone house, but the Knap of Howar in Scotland is
actually the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe. The
farmstead's two buildings connected by a passage were built with split
stone to a height of just over five feet and feature doorways facing the
sea. A hole in the roof indicates the home was likely heated by fire
and stone furniture found provides an even stronger indication that this
was once an ancient residence.

Megalithic TemplesMalta, 3,500 B.C.

A
collection of six different temples built over hundreds of years in
Malta, the Megalithic Temples are noteworthy not only for their
originality and complexity, but due to the advanced technical skill that
would have been required to build some of the earliest known
freestanding stone structures. Each monument had a different
articulation and construction, and the exteriors were often hard
coralline limestone, while softer globigerina limestone use used for a
more delicate and ornate interior.

Newgrange

Ireland, 3200 B.C.On
roughly four days every year, the winter solstice sun pokes through the
top of this Stone Age monument and onto the floor of the interior
chamber, filling the ancient temple with light for about 17 minutes.
Built before Stonehenge, Newgrange was likely used to track the passing
of the years with a precision ahead of its time. With an earthen mound
and stone forming passageways and chambers inside Newgrange, the site
likely also served as a passage tomb and ceremonial location as well as
highly engineered clock.

Sechin Bajo

Peru, 1,300 B.C.The vast majority of the world's most imposing ancient structures are
found in the Eastern Hemisphere, but Peru's Sechin Bajo can't be
overlooked. One of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas, the
valley-based civilization's impressive build was opened up to the world
in 2008 after the discovery of a circular adobe brick and rock plaza
over 30 feet in diameter. That, along with a nearby frieze standing over
six feet tall served as archeologists' first look at the area.
Eventually additional buildings with platforms, circular plazas, sunken
features, friezes, graveyards, and walls with carvings have been
uncovered, many built with pre-ceramic materials.

Theatre of MarcellusRome, 12 B.C.

Rome's Theatre of Marcellus has a star-studded past. Commissioned by
Julius Caesar and later inaugurated by Augustus, the architecture of the
columned building became the template for countless theaters and
stadiums to follow. The Theatre of Marcellus was an open-air venue that
could hold 20,000 spectators and included a semicircular travertine
façade, arches, Doric columns, and three levels of seating. The
intricate design included stairways, ramps and even an open-air backdrop
seen behind the stage.

Aqueduct of Segovia

Segovia, Spain, 50 A.D.It's the useful things that tend to be the best preserved, which is
why the crucial Aqueduct of Segovia in Spain is one of the best
surviving examples of an ancient aqueduct. Likely build around 50 AD,
just a few decades before the Colosseum, it was carrying water from the
Frio River to the Spanish town of Segovia into the 1900s. Made of 24,000
granite blocks—and no mortar, mind you—it covers over eight miles of
undulating landscape. With 165 arches that reach over 30 feet high, the
two-story aqueduct was built with great precision, which is why it's
still around today.

The Roman Colosseum

Rome, 80 A.D.At 620 feet long and 513 feet wide, the Colosseum in
Rome was easily the largest amphitheater around when it was in its
prime, yet it wasn't built into a hillside for support like many other
large structures of the time. Instead, it was a fully freestanding
stadium with a foundation of concrete and stone that could provide
seating for 50,000 visitors in multiple seating configurations and
levels. On top of that, the Colosseum's 80 awning-covered arches lead
visitors into an arena that was so well-engineered that it could even be
flooded with water to support aquatic events.

La Hougue Bie

Jersey, 3500 B.C.The La Hougue Bie on the island of Jersey off the coast of Normandy,
France, has a two histories. When it was first built around 3500 BC it
served as a passage grave, one of the tallest in Europe. It was also a
religious site, marked by a medieval chapel sitting atop the prehistoric
mound dolmen—a grave marked by upright stone. Then, in its second life,
it was home to a command bunker built during the German Occupation of
World War II.

Egypt's PyramidsEgypt, Centuries around 2500 B.C.

Nothing proves showcased the might of Egypt's Old
Kingdom better than the powerful building effort of the late third
dynasty pyramids, especially the majestic Great Sphinx of Giza built
around 2530 B.C. Construction of pyramids really stepped up in 2600 when
the mud-brick tombs started taking their iconic shape thanks to stepped
layers of stone. They were, at the time, surrounded by shrines and
courtyards, even temples. Where the original pyramid reached some 204
feet tall, the Great Pyramid of Khufu rose to over 481 feet and required
millions of blocks of stone—about two and a half tons each. Each was
hand-cut, and the whole process required thousands of workers to haul
the materials into place.

Van Fortress

Turkey, 750 B.C.

Started in around 900 B.C. with construction finally
wrapped over a century later, Van Fortress sits on a steep bluff that
overlooks Tushpa, the ancient capital of Urartian near the modern city
of Van in Turkey. With the lower portions of the walls made of
unmortared basalt and mud bricks that form the remainder, Van Fortress
is more a symbol of regional power more than one of military dominance,
but has changed hands no less than a dozen times regardless.

Persepolis Gate of Nations

Persia (now Iran), 470 B.C.Rituals designed to ward off evil in ancient Persia
involved the use of bulls and the deity lamassu—a human head on an
animal body with wings. And when King Xerxes set to building the
Persepolis Gate of Nations, they played a part, as did imposing 52-foot
columns with ornate engravings. A pair of carved bulls marked the
entrance on one end of the gate, while a carved lamassu decorated the
opposite end. Not only were the size of carvings impressive for the
time, but the detailing was also extravagant. A hall between the two
carved gates led to a third, wider south entrance. The wooden interior
pivoting doors were covered in metal, likely etched in much of the same
style as the great hall.

Sanchi StupaIndia, 300 B.C.

The hemisphere-like shape known as the stupa is a common sight in
Buddhist architecture and Sanchi Stupa is perhaps the most famous of the
ancient examples. One of the oldest stone structures in India, the
stupa covering was built to shelter the remains of a Buddha. Carved
gateways, doorways with storytelling carvings, additional staircases,
and a top-level platform have been added in the hundreds of years since
the memorial's initial construction in 300 BC.

Pons Fabricius

Rome, 62 B.C.Pons Fabricius may not be the oldest bridge still in use (it's believed to be the second
oldest) but it is maybe the most impressive. Spanning from the east
bank of the Tiber River to Tiber Island in the middle, Pons Fabricius
helps pedestrians stroll to the Theatre of Marcellus, detailed above.
203 feet long and 18 feet wide, the stone arch bridge displays a bit of
fanciful design on its two marble pillars. Constructed with tuff and
peperino stone (both a volcanic ash mixture) the bridge was once covered
in travertine though now, thanks to repairs, there is some brick in
there too. The cleverest part of the bridge's design is an additional
arch in the center pier which gives high waters an escape route and
alleviates pressure on the hefty foundation. That's no doubt a big
factor in why it's still around today.